Ethical and Moral Dilemmas Present Related to the Ebola - Research Paper Example

Ethical and moral dilemmas in regards Ebola Introduction Recently the world has come to know about the disease named Ebola. The disease was formerly known as the Ebola haemorrhagic fever. The disease has infectious characteristics. Viruses of the disease get transmitted from the wild animals to human body. Then the disease spreads into the human population, through human to human transmission. Apart from human beings the virus also can affect the nonhuman primates like gorillas, chimpanzees and monkeys. The disease was first discovered in 1976 near the Ebola River. Currently the place is under the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Here in this study ethical and moral dilemmas of the disease around the world will be analysed. The study will include research question or objective, methodology and findings and analysis. Research Question or objective Research question is significantly important and an integral part of any research paper. Research question helps the researcher to build a whole research report. It poses lots of questions that other people care about. According to Bordage and Dawson, research question is one of the most important components of any research paper. It provides a clear picture about the research topic. Research question guides the research outcome. Without the help of research question a research paper cannot find the proper direction. Here in this case the research question is whether the world is facing ethical and moral dilemmas related with Ebola. Literature review According to Enemark & Selgelid, (2012), ethical and moral dilemmas are quite evident in the cases of various infectious diseases. They have stated that ethical and moral dilemmas are not new factors as far as the infectious diseases are concerned. It is an age old issue that the global fraternity is facing since long. The authors have categorically stated that nurses and doctors are also human being. They have the equal chances of being impacted by the infectious diseases. But on the other hand healing patients is the fundamental objective for the doctors and nurses. So there is a huge scope of ethical and moral dilemmas. According to them these kinds of ethical and moral dilemmas are common and automatic in nature. There is nothing astonishing into it. It is often being noticed that patients affected by the infectious diseases are generally being kept at the isolation chambers where entry and exists are restricted. The authors have stated that doctors and nurses take extra precautions before entering into those isolation chambers. But still there remains a sense of moral and ethical dilemma. Doctors and nurses feel hesitations (Enemark & Selgelid, 2012, pp. 12-17). According to Preston, (2012), Ebola has created significant ethical and moral dilemmas across the world. He stated that the magnitude and gravity of this fatal disease has made the situation worse. People of West Africa are facing severe consequences of this dangerous disease and they have very little to protect their lives. The author has stated that global fraternity has not been able to come with a concrete certified drug to counter this deadly virus. Medicine designing is currently in the experimental phase. But the disease is spreading in a super fast pace. He has categorically said that, at this point of time it is highly required to prevent the outbreak of the disease. As far as the author is concerned here comes the ethical and moral dilemma. It has been noticed that one section of the global community is raising their voices to prevent the disease with the help of experimental drugs. On the other hand, other section of the global fraternity is not supporting the introduction of the experimental drugs. That is why the author has clearly pointed out towards the ethical and moral dilemma related with the disease. He further stated that ethical and moral dilemmas are making the situation more complex as far as the treatments are concerned (Preston, 2012, pp. 78-81). Methodology Research methodology is an important part of any research report. It is the component through which researcher collects information and data required for their research purposes. Without this researcher cannot collect the required data and information. It is an integral part of any research report. With the help of this component researchers try to find the answers of the research question. This part is significantly important for achieving the research objectives. It is the way through which solutions of research problem are found. Here in this paper secondary, qualitative research technique has been selected. Due to the descriptive nature of the research question this research methodology is absolutely suitable and perfect. For any research paper cost is an important factor. With the help of secondary research technique the researcher can save lots of money and the research can be cost effective. Time is also an important factor. Secondary research has helped the researcher to conduct this research with in stipulated time frame. With the help of this research technique the researcher has able to access the required information and data easily. With the help of secondary research the researcher has able to eliminate all the problems associated with the primary research. Secondary research manages extensiveness of the data which is significantly important for a descriptive research question. All the above arguments are clearly indicating that the selected research methodology is absolutely proper in this research context. Findings/Analysis The deadly virus of Ebola has infected 1,800 people in West Africa. Among those almost 1,000 died due to this deadly disease. With the spreading of this dangerous disease, ethical and moral dilemmas are also increasing significantly. The situation is so volatile in the region that, preventive drugs are the needs of the hour. But unfortunately there is no registered medicine for human being to protect them from this disease (BRINK, 2014). In last 40 years the global fraternity has not been able to come up with a proper medicine for this disease. Currently the situation is so worst that, world is prepared to introduce experimental drugs to fight this disease. One of the most important ethical and moral concerns is availability of the experimental drugs. It has been noticed that, experimental drugs are very scarce and it is not at all enough for the magnitude of the disease. The medicine is in the introduction phase, so it is impossible to meet high and quick requirements of the drugs. So distribution of the drugs also creates ethical and moral dilemmas for the global people. According to the study of WHO, people across the world know very little about the disease (Kupferschmidt, 2014). It can create lots of confusions in the minds of global people. Confusions can lead to ethical and moral dilemmas. According to Food and Drug Administration of America, unapproved drugs are only permissible if there is no other alternative and the drug is undergoing a clinical trial testing of safety (Edge & Groves, 2005, pp. 89-92). Here in this case consequences of the disease are severe as the fatality rate is 90%. There is no other alternative but the drugs have not gone under the clinical trial testing of safety. Here comes the ethical and moral dilemma. Some of the experts across the world are saying that introduction of the untested, experimental medicines can be detrimental for the human safety. It can make the situation even worst. Conclusion Ebola is a disease carried by virus called Ebola viruses. The disease is fatal in nature. The paper is clearly indicating that there are enough ethical and moral dilemmas present related with the disease. The paper has been able to indicate the ethical and moral dilemmas of the disease. It has suitably articulated that in one side there are huge requirements of the preventive medicines but on the other side introduction of experimental medicine to prevent the disease creates lots of ethical and moral dilemmas. Various findings and analysis has clearly indicated all those factors into this report. References BRINK, S. (2014). The ethical issues in using an experimental Ebola drug. Retrieved from: http://www.npr.org/blogs/goatsandsoda/2014/08/12/339841723/the-ethical-issues-in-using-an-experimental-ebola-drug. Edge, R. & Groves, J. (2005). Ethics of health care: a guide for clinical practice. London: Cengage Learning. Enemark, C & Selgelid, M. J. (2012). Ethics and security aspects of infectious disease control: interdisciplinary perspectives. Burlington: Ashgate Publishing, Ltd. Kupferschmidt, K. (2014). Using experimental drugs and vaccines against Ebola is ethical, WHO panel says. Retrieved from: http://news.sciencemag.org/africa/2014/08/using-experimental-drugs-and-vaccines-against-ebola-ethical-who-panel-says. Preston, R. (2012). The hot zone: the chilling true story of an Ebola outbreak. New York: Random House. THOMPSON, D. (2014). Ebola drugs raise ethical dilemmas Read More